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These are turbulent times, after all, for Russian players in the NHL. A quarter-century after teams like Detroit, Calgary, New Jersey and Vancouver were prepared to move heaven and earth — and pass along big chunks of hard currency to politically connected types — just to get their mitts on a member of the great Soviet hockey machine, and just a decade after 60 Russian-born players populated the league, the flood has turned to a dribble.

Malkin was one of only 24 Russians to compete in the NHL this season, and that includes Alexander Radulov, who dropped in for a late cup of coffee and a late night out. By comparison, there were 59 Swedes and 40 Czechs.

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Despite the achievements of the Pittsburgh Penguins pivot, who won both the Hart Trophy (as voted on by the Professional Hockey Writers Association) and the Ted Lindsay Award (as voted by members of the NHL Players’ Association) on Wednesday, the number of Russian NHLers could drop even more in the coming years.

The trend is undeniable. The flow of Russians peaked in 2000 when 44 were drafted into the NHL, including six of the first 17 selections.

Last June, only six Russians were drafted out of 211 players selected, and that was up from four the year before.

For Russians playing at home, NHL interest is even thinner. One NHL general manager said this week that of the top 100 players on his team’s draft list, only one — goalie Andrei Vasilevski — is a Russian currently playing in Russia.

That’s an incredible drop in interest, particularly at a time when the best player in the entire league is from Russia.

How does this make any sense? How could Russia send outstanding clubs to the world juniors the last two years, in particular, yet find its players in such low demand?

The decline in Ovechkin’s game, and his decision to retreat from his position as a marquee player by decisions such as skipping last winter’s all-star game, has revived those beliefs among xenophobic types that Russians just don’t want it as bad and won’t commit or compete like North Americans.

The KHL, of course, is a problematic issue. Radulov is expected to become the highest-paid player in hockey when he joins CSKA Moscow for next season. Washington can’t get draft pick Evgeny Kuznetsov to come to North America, at least partially because he’s making $5 million per season tax-free as a 20-year-old in the KHL.

If the NHL goes into hibernation again over another labour standoff in the fall, many believe Yakupov, rather than going back to Sarnia, might go to Russia where he can make a good buck and put himself in the good graces of Russian federation executives for upcoming international competitions.

And if Yakupov goes, how easy will it be to get him back?

Grigorenko, meanwhile, may be turning into the Brady Quinn of this year’s draft as one media analyst after another trashes his draft-worthiness. An ankle injury that hurt his performance at the CHL top prospects game and mono that sapped him of energy during the QMJHL playoffs are dismissed while his tendency to “coast” is held against him.

During the Stanley Cup playoffs, the strong play of Kovalchuk seemed to silence the Russian bashing for a while, but then Kovalchuk didn’t deliver in the final (back injury?) and the questions erupted anew.

It really is a curious dichotomy. Instead of marvelling at the abilities of a player like Malkin and figuring ways to see if there are more like him across the ocean, NHL clubs seem to be recoiling at the mere concept of having to deal with Russian players.

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